A group of devotees have brought out a documentary on the lesser known rituals of Kottiyoor temple, where the annual Vaishaka festival will begin on Tuesday.
“Even those who come to participate in the festival do not know what actually transpires at the temple. So we thought of filming Kottiyoor Mahatmyam, a two-hour-long documentary,” said Vinod Manathana, a member of one of the Sthani families that control the temple. He has directed the documentary.
Legend has it that Kottiyoor in Kannur district is the place where Daksha yaga was conducted. “Later, Lord Parasuram started the Vaishakha festival. The fest was revived when a Kurichya tribal found a ‘swayambhoo siva linga’ while hunting in the forest, according to the legend,” Vinod said.
Thousands of people arrive for the 28-day festival held at the makeshift temple at Akkare Kottiyoor. “The rituals here are unique and can’t be seen anywhere in the country. Certain rituals are even held secretly as people are not allowed to watch them. Such rituals have been omitted from the documentary, but we have narrated such rituals through voiceover for the benefit of devotees who are keen to know about them,” he said.
The uniqueness of the temple is that all castes in the Hindu community have a role in the rituals. “People from as many as 64 Hindu castes participate in the rituals. Each ritual is assigned to a particular community ranging from Brahmins to tribals,” he said.
The team completed the documentary after extensive research and consultation with the Kottiyoor devaswom authorities. “The makeshift temple and the surroundings are a visual treat. Entry to Akkare Kottiyoor is limited to the festival days. Earlier, the entire makeshift temple used to be dismantled after the festival, but now only the ‘sree kovil’ where the siva lingam is kept is demolished,” he said.
The CD of the documentary was released at a function held here on June 7.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / June 10th, 2014
A group of devotees have brought out a documentary on the lesser known rituals of Kottiyoor temple, where the annual Vaishaka festival will begin on Tuesday.
“Even those who come to participate in the festival do not know what actually transpires at the temple. So we thought of filming Kottiyoor Mahatmyam, a two-hour-long documentary,” said Vinod Manathana, a member of one of the Sthani families that control the temple. He has directed the documentary.
Legend has it that Kottiyoor in Kannur district is the place where Daksha yaga was conducted. “Later, Lord Parasuram started the Vaishakha festival. The fest was revived when a Kurichya tribal found a ‘swayambhoo siva linga’ while hunting in the forest, according to the legend,” Vinod said.
Thousands of people arrive for the 28-day festival held at the makeshift temple at Akkare Kottiyoor. “The rituals here are unique and can’t be seen anywhere in the country. Certain rituals are even held secretly as people are not allowed to watch them. Such rituals have been omitted from the documentary, but we have narrated such rituals through voiceover for the benefit of devotees who are keen to know about them,” he said.
The uniqueness of the temple is that all castes in the Hindu community have a role in the rituals. “People from as many as 64 Hindu castes participate in the rituals. Each ritual is assigned to a particular community ranging from Brahmins to tribals,” he said.
The team completed the documentary after extensive research and consultation with the Kottiyoor devaswom authorities. “The makeshift temple and the surroundings are a visual treat. Entry to Akkare Kottiyoor is limited to the festival days. Earlier, the entire makeshift temple used to be dismantled after the festival, but now only the ‘sree kovil’ where the siva lingam is kept is demolished,” he said.
The CD of the documentary was released at a function held here on June 7.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / June 10th, 2014
Profits from ‘Achani’ funded the Quilon public library, now a cultural hub
It is perhaps the only public library in the country which can boast a genesis linked to a movie. In July 1973, when the Malayalam movie Achani was released, the Kollam-based cashew industrialist K. Raveendranathan Nair who produced it declared that he would donate the entire profits from the venture to the construction of a public library in Kollam.
The movie was a box-office success, and Mr. Nair, who later earned the moniker ‘Achani Ravi,’ kept his word by donating his profit of nearly Rs.15 lakh (a big amount at that time) to the library.
It all began in early 1973 when the idea of a public library for Kollam city germinated in the minds of Mr. Nair, physician T. Kurien, and two journalists M.S. Sreedharan and Devanand. Together, they met the then District Collector M. Joseph, whose response was positive.
Society registered
Soon, an ad hoc conference was called by the Collector with all sections of people in Kollam. The discussion largely pertained to getting the government to allocate suitable land in the city to house the library. The meeting adjourned without identifying a property, but succeeded in registering a society, under the Travancore-Cochin Charitable Societies Act, named the Quilon Public Library and Research Centre (QPLRC).
The immediate task of the society was to identify land. Recalls Mr. Nair, “Fortunately at that time, Kollam had two dynamic ministers — T.K. Divakaran and Baby John — in the then C. Achutha Menon Cabinet. The society office-bearers met TK and put forth a suggestion for allocating some land from the Rest House complex at Chinnakada.”
Library complex
But the visionary that he was, “TK wanted the society leaders to think out of the box and plan a library that would go beyond mere lending of books and promoting reading.” His idea focussed on a library complex that would serve as a cultural hub to promote fine arts and performing arts. “I will discuss it with comrade Baby John,” he told them.
It was Baby John, Revenue and Excise Minister at that time, who suggested housing the library in the Excise Complex on YMCA Road, its current location. The complex was then a dumping space for material objects seized in connection with various excise-related offences.
But finding a suitable alternative accommodation for the Excise Complex was not an easy task. After a lot of effort, on New Year’s Day in 1975, as much as 2.5 acres of the Excise Complex was formally allocated by the government to the QPLRC. At a function held on April 23 that year, Baby John laid the foundation stone for the library building in the presence of Babu Divakaran.
Even as the construction was on, the QPLRC started functioning from a palm-frond-thatched shed in the compound on February 1, 1976.
The then Prime Minister Morarji Desai inaugurating the Kollam public library in January 1979. The then Governor Jyothi Venkatachalam, the then Chief Minister P.K. Vasudevan Nair, and the then Revenue Minister Baby John are also seen. / The Hindu
Building ready in 1978
The building was ready by November 1978, and on January 2, 1979, the QPLRC was inaugurated at a grand function by the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai, in the presence of the then Governor Jyothi Venkatachalam, Chief Minister P.K. Vasudevan Nair, and Baby John. Unfortunately, T.K. Divakaran had passed away in 1976.
Key resource
The QPLRC is today a treasure trove of information for all age groups. With a collection of more than one lakh books, the library is a key resource for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, visitors, and the community at large.
It contains separate research and reference sections, apart from a spacious reading room where all newspapers and magazines are available to readers, irrespective of whether they are members or not. Browsing the shelves of the library for a good read or an answer to a question can turn up unexpected pleasures.
A view of the children’s wing of the library. / Photo: C. Suresh Kumar / The Hindu
Membership
The membership has touched 50,000, and over 10,000 are very active. The QPLRC, which operates as a self-financing institution, is also a University Grants Commission-sanctioned research centre for Malayalam and Islamic history. Its archives contain all copies of The Hindu from 1980, bound and preserved on a monthly basis for reference.
Other institutions of the library include the Sopanam Kala Kendram auditorium, the Saraswathi hall, the Library hall, the Sopanam Kala Kshethram, and a children’s library with a membership of 5,000.
These are managed by a 23-member staff. The complex functions as the cultural hub of the city, hosting film shows, book festivals, performing arts, lectures, exhibitions, plays, and concerts.
Since the library’s inception, Mr. Ravi continues to be unanimously chosen by the 40-member governing body as the honorary secretary. The District Collector is the ex officio chairman. Mr. Ravi enriches the library collection through generous contributions.
Staff members say that taking into consideration the services rendered by the library, the government should support it through some funding.
This article has been corrected for a factual error.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Ignatius Pereira / Kollam – June 11th, 2014
Zamorin Manavikraman Raja was under treatment following old age-related ailments. He breathed his last around 2.55pm.
Manavikraman Raja was annointed the Zamorin after the death of the then Zamorin P K S Raja in March 2013.
Born in Thiruvannur Puthiya Kovilakom as the son of Kuttimbatti Thamburatti and Paderi Shakran Namboodirippad on May 10, 1920, Manavikraman Raja had his education at the Zamorin’s School and took his BSc degree from Annamalai University. He started his career as a schoolteacher at Zamorin’s High School and later joined the Union ministry of commerce in 1947. He then moved to the ministry of foreign affairs and retired from service in 1980 as third secretary from the Indian Embassy in erstwhile Czechoslovakia. He had also served in Canada, Lebanon, Phillipines and many other countries.
As Zamorin, he was the trustee of a number of temples in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad and active in the social and cultural realms.
People from various walks of life paid tributes at the Thiruvannur Puthan Kovilakom where the body was kept. The last rites would be performed at Thiruvannur Kovilakam around 8am on Wednesday.
K C Unnianujan Raja of Kottakkal Kizhakke Kovilakom will succeed Manavikraman Raja as the next Zamorin.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / April 30th, 2014
The museum that was opened to public at Willingdon island on Monday| express
Kochi :
It was exactly 86 years ago that Kochi’s own port became a reality with S S Padma cruising into its inner berth. In 1928, Sir Robert Bristow made a indelible signature on Kochi’s history by shaping up a port which is now the most sought-after one in the South West India.
As the Port Trust celebrates 86th Port Day on Monday, the Cochin Port Trust along with Bristow Society, Chamber of Commerce and Customs and Sea Marines Association has set up a heritage museum near the Cochin Port Trust office.
Paul Antony, chairman, Cochin Port Trust, inaugurated the museum titled ‘Kochi Maritime Heritage Museum’ at Willingdon Island on Monday.
The museum will be opened to the public from 10 am to 5 pm from Monday to Saturday. The heritage museum unveils the history of the Kochi port during a period of 21 years starting from 1920 to 1941. The photographs exhibited on the walls flaunt the evolution of the port from a water body to a congested berth of ships.
According to C Unnikrishnan, Cochin Port Trust secretary, the museum is a tribute to Sir Robert Bristow. “The museum has around 70 photos and other devices and instruments that virtually tell the history of the port. The 70 pictures tell the evolution of the port. The photos also convey the efforts made by the architects and construction workers to build a port. It was in 1928 that the ships were berthed at the inner harbour. Before that, the ships were berthed at the outer sea. The visitors can also see the various stages of the construction of the port,” he said.
“The museum will also feature rare documents, navigational instruments plans and devices which were used in the early decades of 20th century. The construction plan of the port drawn by the Robert Bristow is the highlight among the lot. Besides, the parts of the ships, signal devices, anchors and miniatures are also on display, said Unnikrishnan.
The museum will be managed by Bristow Memorial Society. Ticket rate would be `10 per person.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Services – nie / May 27th, 2014
The Padmanabhapuram Palace located at Padmanabhapuram, former capital city of the Travancore kingdom, in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu has been included in UNESCO’s draft list of World Heritage Sites, Cultural Affairs Minister K C Joseph said on Wednesday.
The minister said that the palace, that was constructed in 1601, was included in the list after the World Heritage Committee that met at New Delhi on May 15. The palace, though located in Tamil Nadu, is being administered by the Government of Kerala. The over 500-year-old palace is considered as a prime example of the Kerala architecture.
Joseph also said that the committee will consider including the Edakkal Caves in Wayanad in the next draft list. The Kerala Government had earlier sent a special report to the committee demanding the inclusion of both the sites in the list.
The caves located 25 km from Kalpetta in Wayanad has pictorial stone-age carvings believed to date back to BC 6000. The minister said that the government had already submitted project report on the two sites and has appointed archaeologist Elizabeth Thomas as a special officer for the mission.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service – Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service – Thiruvananthapuram / May 15th, 2014
